May 1, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union. This is one of the most important moments in the history of Katowice Airport, as evidenced by numerous data.
Development of passenger and cargo traffic
In 2003, the last full year of Poland’s outside the European Union structures, Katowice airport handled 257 thousand passengers. Already in 2004, the “open skies” effect was recorded at Katowice, as the number of travelers rose to 622,000. In 2005, for the first time in the airport’s history, one million passengers were served on a calendar year basis, closing the first full year of Poland’s membership in the European Union with 1.09 million passengers. In comparison, the current forecast indicates that in 2024 Katowice Airport will handle more than 6 million passengers, almost 10 times as many as two decades ago. From the beginning of May 2004 to the end of April 2024, a total of 57.3 million passengers used Katowice Airport’s route network, and aircraft made 596,000 takeoffs and landings during that time.
The biggest impact on the development of passenger traffic at Katowice Airport during the 20 years of Poland’s membership in the European Union has been made by foreign low-cost airlines, which were able to appear in Pyrzowice thanks to the EU’s open skies rule. The first low-cost airline to debut at Katowice Airport was Wizz Air. This occurred on May 19, 2004. According to estimates, for almost 20 years Wizz Air has carried almost 25.5 million passengers to and from Pyrzowice. On November 1, 2007, the second low-cost carrier, Irish Ryanair, made its debut in Pyrzowice. From then until the end of April 2024, Ryanair planes carried more than 6.1 million passengers to and from Pyrzowice on scheduled routes. Two traditional carriers present at Katowice Airport even before Poland’s accession to the European Union, namely PLL LOT and Lufthansa, have served 1.5 million and 2.5 million passengers, respectively, on scheduled flights since May 1, 2004.
Katowice Airport has always been one of Poland’s leading airports in charter traffic, and for several years has been a national leader in this segment. Over the past 20 years, charter traffic has grown dynamically here. Since May 1, 2004, 134,000 passengers have checked in at Pyrzowice as part of the charter network. According to the current forecast, in 2024 there will be 22 times that number, or about 3 million. From May 2004 to the end of April 2024, 20.6 million travelers were served at the Katowice airport in the charter segment.
Two decades of Poland’s membership in the European Union, from the perspective of Katowice Airport, have seen not only dynamic growth in the number of travelers, but also in air cargo. In 2004, 5,038 tons of cargo passed through Katowice Airport. Forecasts indicate that in 2024 Katowice Airport will once again exceed the barrier of 40,000 tons of freight handled annually. During the 20 years of Poland’s presence in the EU structures, a total of about 330,000 tons of air freight was handled at Katowice’s cargo terminal.
Financial result and investments
From May 2004 to the end of April 2024, the accumulated revenue of Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze SA amounted to PLN 2.26 billion, net profit PLN 222 million and EBIDTA PLN 811 million. During the two decades of Poland’s membership in the European Union, GTL SA has carried out more than 60 investments at Katowice Airport for a total of PLN 1.18 billion, of which about PLN 200 million was subsidized by the European Union, mainly from the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program.
The most important investments completed at Katowice Airport between 2004 and 2024 include the construction of a new 3,200-meter runway, the construction of passenger terminals B and C, the creation of a modern air cargo handling area, the construction of an aircraft maintenance center with three hangars, as well as the expansion and modernization of aprons and taxiways.
In 2004, the area of all airport surfaces at Katowice Airport (runway, taxiways, aprons) was 30 hectares; by mid-2024, it was already 88.5 hectares. Twenty years ago, the area of all cubic facilities at Katowice Airport (passenger terminals, cargo terminal and hangar area) was about 17,700 square meters, in 2024 it is about 69,000 square meters.
– The development of Katowice Airport is a great example of the positive impact of Poland’s accession to the European Union. The airport is now in a very different, much better, place than it was two decades ago. Thanks to the EU’s open skies principle, air travel has become easier and much more accessible. In turn, funding from the European Union, especially in the first decade of membership, has helped the dynamic development of Katowice Airport’s infrastructure and meet the demands of growing passenger and cargo traffic. The past two decades were also a very good time from the perspective of the Company’s financial condition, and this despite the coronavirus pandemic, which lasted two years. Throughout the 20 years of Poland’s membership in the European Union, the GTL SA staff has proven that airport infrastructure can be managed and developed profitably and efficiently for the benefit of the residents and economy of the Silesian region and the port’s shareholders.
We are facing further challenges in implementing Katowice Airport’s investment program for 2024-2028. I believe that the knowledge and experience that our team has gathered over the past 20 years of developing Katowice Airport will pay off, and we will once again efficiently achieve the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves. We will also be helped by support from the European Union, as one of our projects, the construction of a multimodal freight and fuel transshipment hub based on a railroad siding, has received funding of up to 50% of eligible costs under the Connecting Europe – Military Mobility financial instrument. We are pleased that the European Union continues to support the development of the infrastructure of Katowice airport, and thus contributes to strengthening the Polish aviation industry – says Artur Tomasik, CEO of Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze SA.
GTL S.A. is a Member Company of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice.